March 2008

I am counting the days until my farmer’s market opens for the season. Every Tuesday morning from early May through November, the market sets up in the parking lot of my local public library branch. All of the farmers are from Virginia, with the exception of one fruit purveyor who comes in from just over the border in Pennsylvania.

This little market—about a dozen purveyors in all—is where I first came across, a few years ago, a swirling pile of garlic scapes. If you have never seen scapes before, they look almost like something out of Dr. Seuss, long, curling green stalks with a pale green base and a tapered, dark green tip. They are the flower shoot of the garlic bulb and their mild garlic flavor makes them ideal for all sorts of spring dishes. They can be pounded into pesto, chopped and added to vegetable sautés and spring soups, folded into omelets, or stirred into risotto.

The market is also where, last summer, I purchased my first sweet potato greens, the bright green leaves and stems of the sweet potato plant, which I cooked the way I cook spinach, sautéed with lots of garlic. They were unusual—mildly sweet, and during cooking they released a bit of starchy liquid.

We now have two meat purveyors at the market, and between them we can purchase free-range chickens, grass-fed beef and bison, lamb, pork, and even goat. One of the producers, an Amish farmer, also puts out an irresistible array of baked goods for sale, from fresh layer cakes to homemade whoopee pies. I am under strict orders from my kids not to return home without a batch of the iced cinnamon rolls. I, on the other hand, am looking forward to bringing home the best of spring’s vegetables, from baby cauliflower and potatoes to English peas and radishes.

In the mean time, while the cold weather persists, I am sticking to comfort food. On one recent night, it was Heartland Brisket, a wonderful recipe from a cookbook called Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland, by Beth Dooley and Lucia Watson, in which the brisket is braised with stock, beer, herbs, and caraway seeds. I also cooked up my Onion Soup with Pecorino Cheese from The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy. Click here for the original recipe.  And for my sister’s birthday I baked this coconut cake.  What are you up to in the kitchen these days?

Buon Appetito,

Domenica